In April 2010, MSA – the Mine Safety Appliances Company – requested approval from Cranberry’s Board of Supervisors to expand several parking lots adjacent to its Cranberry Woods Drive plant and laboratory. Normally, a modest expansion of parking space is no big deal for fast-growing Cranberry. But this is different: the reason for expanding its parking space is to accommodate the consolidation of 300 employees currently based at MSA’s office in O’Hara Township with approximately 500 other staff members already housed in Cranberry Woods.

As a result, Cranberry Township has emerged as the company’s corporate as well as research headquarters. Work on adapting some of the plant’s manufacturing space into offices is currently underway, but its production of thermal imaging cameras as well as certain special instrumentation will continue at the Cranberry Woods site, which will become known as MSA Corporate Center.

Mine Safety Appliances was founded nearly 100 years ago. Its workforce now includes more than 5,000 worldwide. Following the company’s purchase of the 327-acre Cranberry Woods property in the early 1980s as a location for its laboratory and instrument plant, the company worked with Township officials to transform its site into a world-class office park designed to host the knowledge-based industries of the 21st century. Today, Cranberry Woods includes almost 1.5 million square feet of Class A office and research space, with even more on the way.

Westinghouseformally dedicated its new global corporate headquarters in October 2010. By 2011, the company expects to employ 5,000 people at the state-of-the-art facility, which represents a huge investment in southwestern Pennsylvania.

The company exercised its option to build a fourth building - a 120,000 squre foot facility; thus raising the its Cranberry Woods headquarter to more than 1 million square feet. Westinghouse has also established a significant presence in nearby Marshall Township (Allegheny County).

According to the Pittsburgh Business Times, "After hiring 4,000 people in the last few years, Westinghouse continues to project that it will add 750 new employees each year, as the company ramps up to meet fast-growing demand for nuclear power plants in China, the United States and elsewhere throughout the world."

Westinghouse Electric Company is now fully committed to the commercial nuclear power industry, but the company traces its roots back to 1886, when it was founded by George Westinghouse, acknowledged during his lifetime as the world’s greatest engineer. During the 20th century, Westinghouse scientists and engineers were granted more than 28,000 U.S. government patents, the third most of any company.

Throughout its long history, the name Westinghouse has been associated with a large number of significant achievements, mostly related to electricity and electronics. Review the historical timeline of Westinghouse in southwestern Pennsylvania.